TALKERS News Notes
IBS National Conference Set for 2025. The Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) has announced its annual conference will be coming back to New York City next year. Set for March 7-8, 2025, the nation’s longest running, largest and most important gathering of college radio broadcasters will be held again at the Sheraton Times Square in the heart of Manhattan. Organizers have plans in the works for activities like additional sessions and tours during the day on Thursday, March 6 as well. Early registrants can save big bucks. $109 per person for up to 10 attendees, then the rest of your staff goes for free! This offer ends October 15, (and then prices and group deals go up). TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison, who was a featured speaker at last year’s conference says, “One of the most dynamic scenes in radio today connecting the present with the future is playing out on college campuses across the nation. Professional broadcasters interested in the future of this medium and industry should attend this event. I always come away from it invigorated and inspired.” For more info on IBSNYC 2025, please click here.
Sterling Shines in Philly. In the first two months since the debut of “Sterling Every Damn Night” on WPHT, Philadelphia, the quirky 9:00 pm – 12:00 midnight talk show hosted by Walter M Sterling (a.k.a. legendary media consultant Walter Sabo) has been gathering jaw dropping metrics. The show has delivered five times the total share of audience 12+ since the same time last year and has proven to be formidably competitive in every key news/talk radio demo. What makes it so interesting on an industry level is its departure from the standard left-right partisan politics that dominates the news/talk format. It covers what is described as “nightly life” – such as the trouble with customer service, in-laws, schools, and romance. What one talks about with their best friends is what the show discusses. Features on the show include listener calls, plus “People of Walmart,” “True Detective Stories,” and new perspectives on current events: Sterling had the first interview with a citizen of Ukraine while bombs were going off, and a Tel Aviv bus driver sharing thoughts on America’s alleged lack of support for Israel. The show is designed for guards up all night in the building lobby, people getting done with second shift, going on third shift, cramming for finals or trying to get the baby to sleep. This is a show that deserves radio industry attention.
questions as it did answers about what young broadcasters entering professional media today should be prepared for in navigating the unpredictably turbulent waters of the next decade and beyond. Among the sweeping panorama of topics covered in his address, Harrison told the students, “When looking to the future, don’t be too sure that current events will follow a predictable script. There are always ‘black swan events’ that change the storyline and our expectations in an instant. Plus, there are multiple outcomes, possibilities, and forks in the road for almost every situation.” Regarding the current focus on artificial intelligence, Harrison advised, “All technology is a double-edged sword and AI will prove to be a particularly consequential one with both positive and negative implications. However, don’t fall into the age-old trap of thinking that productions and performances created or enhanced by new technology are necessarily ‘artificial’ or ‘fake.’ New tools not only create new art, they have an irrepressible influence on giving rise to new culture. The immediate years ahead are likely going to provide us with the challenging question of ‘what does it mean to be truly human?’” Harrison concluded, “As young broadcasting students in 2024 looking to make a difference in the world, be prepared to face the challenge of following your dreams, ideals and inspiration while confronting the harsh realities of making a living in a stressed environment of relentless change. We live our lives in this business at the dangerous intersection between art and commerce.”
-2) at the Sheraton Times Square hotel in New York City. Harrison’s address titled, “The Next 10 Years of Media and Popular Culture is…?,” is scheduled to take place between 11:00 am and 12:00 noon on Saturday (3/2). Harrison states, “I have always believed that the future of broadcasting, for better or worse, brews on the campuses of America and this observation is truer now than ever before. I am very excited to bring an array of provocative and pertinent observations, predictions and possibilities, born of my perspective as a future-minded immigrant from the 20th century to such a vital and dynamic group of young communicators.” 
New York City on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2. Harrison’s address titled, “The Next 10 Years of Media and Popular Culture is…?,” is scheduled to take place between 11:00 am and 12:00 noon on Saturday (3/2). Harrison states, “I have always believed that the future of broadcasting, for better or worse, brews on the campuses of America and this observation is truer now than ever before. I am very excited to bring an array of provocative and pertinent observations, predictions and possibilities, born of my perspective as a future-minded immigrant from the 20th century, to such a vital and dynamic group of young communicators.”